Return To The Old South By Visiting Louisiana's Restored Plantation Homes.

March 05, 1989|By JEAN GEDDES Special to the Daily Press

Some of Louisiana's most beautifully restored plantation homes lie secluded behind giant magnolias and live oaks along the famous River Road between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

These mansions include Nottoway, Oak Alley, San Francisco and the ever haunting Ashland-Belle Helene - all built when sugar cane was king and every planter a prince.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Sunday, March 26, 1989./ A story in Sunday's paper on Louisana plantations listed an incorrect address for travel information. If you'd like to know more about visiting the plantations, write the Louisiana Office of Tourism, P.O. Box 94291, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9291, or call 1-504-342-8119.

Many of the homes incorporate modern times with those more romantic days by offering elegant bed and breakfast accommodations. What beds! What breakfasts!

We drove into Louisiana from Houston, arriving at our first plantation stop about dusk: Nottoway in White Castle. This is the largest restored mansion in the South and one of the most popular bed and breakfast homes. As accomodations are booked solidly months in advance, it's best to make arrangements far ahead of time.

Rounding a curve in the long driveway we literally gasped! There stood Nottoway in all its glory, an American palace totally restored to its pristine elegance.

Actually the mansion's roots go back deep into Virginia, where the original owner/builder was born. John Hampden Randolph came, as a young man, to Louisiana from his native Virginia and prospered as a sugar cane planter. He acquired 7,000 acres of rich land, then built the finest and the largest home in the area.

The 64 rooms that comprise the mansion include an enormous white ballroom where six of the owner's eight daughters were married. As we were warmly greeted by the hostess in the large center hall, we learned we would be staying in the restored boys' wing.

A white-coated butler showed us into the suite, which contained three rooms, a bath complete with Jacuzzi, a private brick-walled patio with its own swimming pool, a bedroom with elegant canopied bed and a sitting room with fireplace, oil portraits and a mirrored wall.

A tall vase filled with fresh pink carnations and baby's breath stood on the wall table and nearby a bucket of ice held a bottle of superb champagne. We were to quickly learn that there is nothing to compare with a Creole welcome or a farewell. This was Louisiana.

We dressed leisurely for dinner, which would be served in the mansion's formal dining room, then strolled slowly along the brick pathway toward the main house. Gardens were in bloom with pansies, orchids and an occasional stray azalea blossom.

A pianist played for dinner, adding to the charm of the 19th-century dining room resplendent with linen covered tables.

Marvelous selections of Creole and Cajun dishes were offered, and we decided to try the tempting Cajun Two Step - which turned out to be a levee of turkey and sausage jambalaya surrounded by a river of shrimp etouffee. Marvelous! And the cost? $14.95. Worth every cent.

The Nottoway bread pudding with rum sauce is legend. Paddlewheelers on the Mississippi stop long enough for guests to scurry up for this taste treat.

Leaving the dining room, we found the night clear and cool. We walked up the levee, high above the river, and watched the moonlight sparkle on the water before we returned to our rooms.

The canopied bed covers had been turned down for us. We slipped onto the comfort of the large mattress and in no time nestled into a deep sleep. So deep in fact, that we could hardly believe it was morning and that someone was knocking at the door.

The butler arrived with silver tray, coffee, sweet potato biscuits and orange juice and said this was only our wake up call, which would prepare us for breakfast in the dining room.

Again the offerings were spectacular. Pain perdu, we soon discovered, was French bread soaked in cream with cinnamon, browned in butter and served, of course, with Louisiana cane syrup. We forgot our diets and indulged.

Nottoway is famous far and wide, and thanks to its present owner, Australian-born Paul Ramsey, it is well cared for and being increased in size. If America has homes it calls palaces, then Nottoway would be the queen of them all.

We had to drag ourselves away from Nottoway, but - as we allowed 2 1/2 days for this trip between Baton Rouge and New Orleans by car - we continued along the River Road and about half an hour later arrived at Napoleanville and our next stop: Madewood.

This home is often referred to as "Queen of the Bayou" and boasts 21 large rooms and tall white exterior columns. It also offers overnight accommodations. Guests may choose to stay in the main house or in Charlet House or Elfield Cabin. It was soon evident that the River Road mansions were doing well in adapting themselves to this century.

After the tour of the home, which today is a national historic landmark, we continued along the winding River Road for another 30-minute drive around curves and bends. Suddenly we came to one of the most magnificent drives leading to any home.